Cargo City construction at Budapest Airport

Design and permitting works for Budapest Airport’s latest major development project, an air cargo hub called the Cargo City, are progressing at full speed.

The 11 000 square meters of warehouse space and the adjoining 5000 square meters of office space - the first phase of the development - has been leased up to 80 % to two major ground handling companies at the airport.

The construction of the Cargo City is scheduled to commence in a few months’ time, in September 2011 in the Southeastern part of Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport, on the side of runway II facing towards Vecsés. The airport operator has set itself the goal of constructing a brand new air cargo center. As a first step, a 5000 square meter international postal exchange facility was completed for the Hungarian Post last October. The developments did not end there; the construction of the Cargo City is set to continue in two phases, in each of which an air cargo facility of 11 000 plus 5000 square meters will be executed.

Budapest Airport has already managed to agree with two major ground handling companies, Celebi Ground Handling and Malév. More than 80 percent of the facility has thus been leased, with Budapest Airport’s Business Unit Property holding additional negotiations for the utilization of the remaining area.

„Developments will not stop with the completion of the first phase of Cargo City as the preparations of the second phase are in full blast” said René Droese, Property Director of Budapest Airport. „The project received very positive feedback from the market, which is clearly indicated by the quick commitment of our two big business partners. Cargo City offers a lot of advantages for the local community by creating new job and business opportunities, boosts the economy of the entire Southern Budapest region around the airport.”

The development will enable Budapest Airport to serve the needs of cargo airlines at significantly higher standards, as the new Cargo City will replace the outdated facilities located near Terminal 1. The project will have positive impact at several levels, bringing both operational and environmental benefits for air cargo operators, whose trucks will have direct access to the M0 and M4 motorways from the facility without going to downtown areas.

The first phase of the project will be completed by the fall of 2012, but there is a large area available for development on the side of the airport facing towards Vecsés. According to estimates, this approximately 2 kilometer long stretch of airport land is big enough to accommodate facilities with a capacity to handle as much as 2.5 million tons of cargo per year, about thirty times of the current level. The development will create jobs and open up additional investment opportunities around the airport.

Budapest Airport Plc., the operator of Ferenc Liszt International Airport is co-owned by the Hungarian state (25% +1 vote) and a consortium of German, Canadian, American and Singaporean investors led by HOCHTIEF Concessions (75% -1 vote). Currently, the two terminals of the airport are home to 34 airlines, which transported nearly 8.2 million passengers to more than 90 destinations in 40 countries in 2010.

Budapest Airport’s goal is to become the leading airport in Central and Eastern Europe in terms of traffic growth and service quality. To this end, the company is undertaking significant investments in order to expand its capacities, and has committed to spending a total of 261 million euros (approximately 75 billion HUF) by the end of 2011 on developments. The most significant of these is the construction of the SkyCourt, a new terminal building linking Terminals 2A and 2B. The elegant, high-quality SkyCourt provides an unforgettable architectural and travel experience, as well as a rich selection of shops and restaurants. The new terminal makes traveling through the airport simpler and more convenient, as well as expanding throughput.

In 2011, Budapest Airport began a new project, the Cargo City development near Terminal 2, with 26 000 square meters of cargo storage areas and a logistics park due to be built in the first phase. Also in 2011, Budapest Airport commenced the planning and construction of a new engine test stand near the Lufthansa Technik hangar. The long-awaited environmental protection project will be accompanied by numerous other developments, whereby Budapest Airport is contributing to the implementation of a sustainable aeronautical model.